PTI Tucson Blog

So here is what I find to be the most interesting fact about breakfast: If you skip breakfast you are 4.5 times more likely to be OBESE! That is one of the top indicators for adult obesity. So if you don’t have time to eat breakfast, make sure you make lots of time for either working out or doctors visits. Personally I would prefer a good breakfast. So what is a good breakfast? Here are the keys to making a good breakfast:

1. It should be your largest meal of the day. This only makes sense. You have not eaten anything for 8-10 hours and have a full days work ahead of you. You need to fill up the tank and get you body out of fat storage mode!
2. Roughly half of your breakfast should be protein. Protein helps keep you full. Good lean protein is you best choice. (egg, egg white, skim milk, canadian bacon, turkey, protein powder if you have too) Make sure it also includes some good fiber (real oatmeal, whole grain bread, whole grain cereals, fruit)
3. You should eat it shortly after rising. Just because you are eating breakfast foods, it doesn’t count as breakfast if you are eating it at 11am and you got up at 7am. Breakfast should be eaten within an hour of rising; sooner if possible.
4. In a hurry: While toasting a whole grain english muffin, scramble an egg in a small dish and microwave for 1 minute. Make a sandwich of the egg, some low fat cheese and a slice or two of canadian bacon. Grab a piece of fruit and head out the door. You can do that faster than you can pick up fast food and it is a near perfect breakfast!

Measure your oils!

I know you all will eyeball your measurements in order to “save time”. Just be aware you time saving is probably costing you in calories and sodium! Study after study shows that we are all really bad at eyeballing measurements. To make matters worse we err on the wrong side: too much not too little. Keep in mind the difference between a teaspoon and a tablespoon of oil is 80 calories and 9g of fat! The difference between a half teaspoon and a teaspoon of salt is about 1200mg or about half your daily recommendation!

What about your breakfast cereal! Surely we can accurately free pour our cereal…nope! If you are like most people you will over pour by 40% . In one study, 100 people were asked to make a cereal pour and only 1 in 10 were even close. For flake cereals, the average pour was 40% over the one cup serving size. A full cup of skim milk means you have added another 40 calories over the label standard. No think about your orange juice, coffee creamer, jelly, etc….breakfast is full of opportunities to make bad portion calls and all this with a still slightly groggy brain.

Your key to success is to measure everything. Spend the time and save the calories!

Directions

Quick Power Breakfast!

So you think that you only have time to prepare and eat oatmeal on the weekend because you are slow cooking some steel-cut oats. You are missing one of the best ways to get a whole grain, fiber rich meal in during the week. As it turns out an oat is an oat, whether it is steel-cut, rolled flat or even pre-steamed so that it will cook in 90 seconded instead of 15 minutes or longer. Flattening and steaming do not remove the whole grain benefits. You still get all the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber! Sure the steel-cut kind is so nutty, chewy and yummy but the instant is so convenient for a quick hearty filling breakfast on the go. I often add a scoop of vanilla whey protein powder for a quick breakfast that is full of fiber and protein and it can be ready in under 3 minutes! My only words of caution are with the prepackaged flavored oats:  you have to watch their added sugar and salt! There are good choices but make sure you are reading the labels! Get you oats on!